Monkey Man (4 Stars)

Dev Patel plays Kid, a man whose mother was killed in racial violence. All his life he's wanted revenge on the corrupt police chief who was responsible. He's now a wrestler who wears a monkey mask and calls himself Monkey Man. He's paid to lose fights. Someone has to do it.

He finally has a chance to get close to the police chief. Kid gets a job as a waiter in a high class brothel that the police chief frequents. Are his wrestling skills enough to get him past the armed guards?

The film contains a lot of religious elements, different Hindu cults. A key figure is the monkey God Hanuman, of whom Kid learnt as a child.

It's an exciting film with a lot of action, but I have to criticise the cinematography. In the close-up scenes it's often difficult to see who's hitting who. Films like "John Wick" show that it can be done better.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

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Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

I'm continuing my random selection of films from my top 100 film list with "Slumdog Millionaire". As far as the Academy Awards are concerned, it's the most successful film in my list. It was nominated for ten Oscars, of which it won eight. Yet it's only in 54th place in my list? That's because I was never invited to vote for the Academy Awards. If I'd been on the committee I would have made sure that all the films in the list would win Oscars.

The film tells the story of India's growth from poverty to riches, alongside the rise of a young boy from the slums to becoming a millionaire. But more than anything else, it's a love story. Jamal Malik only wants to become a millionaire so he can get together with Latika, the woman he's loved since they were children. It's destiny. His life has prepared him for the questions he would be asked on the quiz show "Who wants to be a Millionaire".

Success Rate:  + 22.8

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The Green Knight (3 Stars)

This film is based on the epic poem  "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". For those who know the poem, the story ends differently. That's the only spoiler I'm giving you.

Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur. He's not yet a knight, so he isn't allowed to sit at the Round Table, but he's favoured by the King and is allowed to sit next to his throne.

On Christmas Day a green-skinned giant rides into the throne room. He offers to play a friendly game. Someone must strike him with a weapon, either a light blow or a hard blow. Next year on Christmas Day the person must visit him, and the giant will hit him exactly the same way, either a light blow or a hard blow. None of the knights volunteer, so Gawain says he'll hit the giant. King Arthur gives Gawain Excalibur, and Gawain cuts the giant's head off. The giant picks up his head and puts it back on his shoulders. He thanks Gawain, tells him where he lives and leaves.

The story continues the next year in December. Gawain travels northwards, facing adventures on the way. There are repeated magical and supernatural challenges.

The film is nothing like I expected. I thought it would be full of action, but it's slow moving, without any fight scenes. I found the film dull, despite the excellent acting by Dev Patel.

Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #62

Danny Boyle is a director who never ceases to amaze me. His films are so different to one another, but they're all so good. "Slumdog Millionaire" is almost a Bollywood film, even though the big dance scene doesn't take place until the final credits. How could an Englishman have such a feeling for India?

The film has a similar structure to "Forrest Gump", which I only noticed after watching the two films soon after one another. Both films tell the history of a country through the eyes of a naive person. Forrest Gump travels through America from 1950 to 1980, naively unaware because of his lack of intelligence. Jamal Malik travels through India from 1990 to 2006, naively unaware of India's growth because all he's interested in his finding his long lost love Latika. His older brother Salim points out the developments in India from the top of a skyscraper, but Jamal isn't listening.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is so well constructed that the complexity is hardly noticeable. Three timelines are interwoven in the narrative:

1. The present, in which Jamal is being interrogated in a police station.

2. The recent past, in which Jamal appeared on a television quiz show.

3. The distant past, in which Jamal grew from a child to a man.

Added to this, there are frequent flashbacks and flashforwards. You'll only be able to appreciate the flashforwards the second time you watch the film.

Needless to say, this is a brilliant film. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.

Success Rate:  + 22.8

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Chappie (5 Stars)

Sometimes I don't understand myself. I've watched this film four times and only given it 4½ Stars each time. There's usually a reason why I deduct half a star from an otherwise perfect film. In this case, I don't remember what it was. This is a beautiful film about a robot that crossed over and became conscious. His artificial intelligence was advanced enough to be called real intelligence. Is that something that's possible in my lifetime? Maybe, maybe not. The goal is to create artificial intelligence that doesn't just imitate natural intelligence, it has to act, think and reason just like a human being. The example given by Chappie's creator is that an intelligent robot would be able to look at a painting and be able to say whether it likes it or not. My example is that an intelligent robot would be able to watch films and write my blog for me. That would be fascinating.

Chappie, the police robot that's given artificial intelligence, starts from the beginning. He has to learn how to talk. He has to learn moral values. He learns (as a necessity) what it is to have people lying to him. Yolandi loves Chappie as if she were his mother, and she wants him to grow up and live a decent life. Ninja wants Chappie to become a gangster and make lots of money. Which way will he develop?

The film should have been the first part of a trilogy. It's sad that the plans for the other two films have been abandoned. Several hooks were added for a sequel. "Chappie" has enough potential to lay the groundwork for first class sequels.

Success Rate:  + 0.1

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Hotel Mumbai (5 Stars)

This is the chilling true story of the terrorist attack in Mumbai on 26th November 2008. I remember watching the news on television, but I didn't realise how devastating the attack was until I saw the film last year.

There were attacks throughout the city, an initial attack at the CST train station, followed by simultaneous attacks on various other locations. Hotels were the main focus of the attacks, because the perpetrators wanted to kill foreigners. The film concentrates on the assault on the Taj Hotel. It seems from the film that only two terrorists were supposed to be in the hotel, but another two terrorists took refuge in the hotel while fleeing from the police.

The film's main character is a heroic young waiter called Arjun, played by Dev Patel. Difficult times make heroes of seemingly timid people. Calamity struck, and he revealed himself to be a natural leader, risking his life to protect the guests.

Would I have been heroic in such circumstances? I don't know. I don't see myself as a hero. I would probably have been running to save my own life. Maybe a situation like this would change me. I hope I never have to find out.

With the exception of one young man, Imran, we don't get to know the terrorists. We just know that they're young Moslems who have been radicalised by a man called Bull, who we only hear on the phone. His real name is Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and he currently operates in Kashmir. He was arrested in 2009, but he ran away when he was released on bail in 2015. Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister of Pakistan, claims that the Pakistani government was involved in the attacks.

The film has the atmosphere of a disaster movie. The terrorists are a faceless force, killing indiscriminately. The people in the hotel, customers and staff, all unarmed, have no chance of defending themselves and have to run from one hiding place to another.

As a disaster movie it's not uplifting. Some of the characters survive, most don't. The film is chilling and horrific in its shocking realism.

Success Rate:  - 0.8

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Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

This is the second film I'm watching this week to commemorate the death of the magnificent actor Irrfan Khan. He plays the strict but fair police officer interrogating Jamal Malik, who's been accused of cheating on "Who wants to be a millionaire?" He plays a relatively small part in the film, but he's perfect for the role.

It's the mark of a great actor that even when he's sitting silently we know what he's thinking.

Irrfan Khan
7 January 1967 – 29 April 2020

Success Rate:  + 22.8

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Hotel Mumbai (5 Stars)

This is the 33rd film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

In the introduction to the film the festival host said that Dev Patel is the best actor in any of this year's festival films. I agree. He's one of the best actors alive today.

"Hotel Mumbai" is the true story of a terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008. A group of Pakistani Moslems went into the city with the intention of killing as many people as possible, out of revenge for losing their homes. Many Moslems are of the opinion that all India rightfully belongs to them. Hinduism and its followers are considered to be evil. The men carried out attacks in 12 crowded places in the city, firing their guns indiscriminately, and finally four of them entered the luxurious Taj Hotel. They attempted to kill all the guests and staff.

The story highlights the plight of a few hotel guests, and it centres on the young waiter Arjun, played by Dev Patel. The violence is emotionally cold, and it's shown with documentary realism that shocks the viewer. The four young men don't seem to have given their actions any thought. They've been brainwashed into thinking it's the right thing to do.

Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

Yesterday my son Benjamin told me that he'd never seen "Slumdog Millionaire". Even worse, he'd never heard of it. I had to put that right.

The lead actors, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, are so perfect for their roles that the casting is almost miraculous. It was the first film for both of them. It takes a special kind of skill to recognise the skill of a new actor. Director Danny Boyle selected them both himself. It's common for top directors to select the lead roles themselves and only let the casting directors pick the actors for the smaller parts.

There's a lot that happens in the film, but at its core it's a love story. After watching the film we sat talking, and I impressed upon Benjamin that nothing in life is as important as love. Am I the right person to be telling him that? He's single. I'm single. It's like the blind are leading the blind.

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Chappie (4½ Stars)

When "Chappie" was made it was intended to be the first film in a trilogy. After initial vague responses the director Neill Blomkamp has clearly stated that the sequels will never be made. His reason is that it didn't perform well enough at the box office. I don't understand that. It earned more than double its budget at the box office, which means that the film at least broke even.

Maybe Neill Blomkamp's personal cut wasn't enough to buy the new Porsche he was eyeing in the showroom. Whatever the reason, he's made up his mind, so there's no use in trying to persuade him. Maybe as time passes he'll think differently when he sees it growing in esteem as a cult film, but nothing that you or I can say will make any difference.

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Chappie (4½ Stars)

This is yet another brilliant film that has been unjustly savaged by the critics. Sometimes I get the impression that there's a secret conspiracy to persuade the public to stay away from good films in the cinema. The rest of the time I just think that the critics are stupid.

"Chappie" was intended to be the first film of a trilogy. The director Neill Blomcamp says he already has plot summaries for the other two films, but he doesn't yet know if he'll be able to make them. I blame the critics.

Chappie (4½ Stars)

Warning! This review contains spoilers!

People who only watch films on streaming services miss out. Today I watched "Chappie" on Blu-ray for the first time. The special features menu listed an alternate ending, and I had to watch it. Deleted scenes don't usually add much to the enjoyment of a film, but alternate endings fascinate me, especially if they put a different twist on a story. For instance, "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" has an ending that's better than what we see in the film. Edgar Wright made the wrong choice in what he put into the film. The film "Chloe" has several alternate endings, which all highlight the story's conclusion from a different angle, and watching them one after another adds to the enjoyment. "Joy Ride" also has several alternate endings, but these give a totally different resolution to the story.

In the case of "Chappie", I found the alternate ending on the Blu-ray so hilarious that I had to laugh out loud. In the official ending Chappie's life is saved by uploading his consciousness to the closest robot. In the alternate ending Chappie's life is saved by uploading his consciousness to every robot, resulting in hundreds of Chappies walking around Johannesburg.

I prefer the alternate ending, but I suspect that the director Neill Blomkamp wanted to end the film on a serious note. Apart from this, the official ending is a better hook to a sequel. Originally "Chappie" was intended to be the first part of a trilogy, but it received unfavourable reviews, so it's unlikely the other two parts will be made. That's unfair. I find "Chappie" brilliant.

Watching "Chappie" on Blu-ray today something seemed strange to me. The picture was somehow sharper than what I'm used to from other films. That's not meant as a criticism, it just looked unusual. It wasn't until half way through the film that I recognised what was different. Usually when a film is shown the foreground is in focus, and the background is slightly blurred. That mimics the way we see with our eyes; we focus on one point, and everything else is less clear. "Chappie" is filmed differently. When there's a city scene, everything is in focus, whether it's in the foreground or far in the background.

The Man who knew Infinity (4½ Stars)

"An equation is only worth something if it expresses the thoughts of God".

This film is a true story about the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Despite having received only limited formal training in Mathematics he was able to write hundreds of mathematical statements and conjectures. His weakness was that the equations came to him intuitively, so he could not prove them. Many of his equations were in regard to infinite series, which is the reason for the film's title.

Ramanujan came from a poor family in Madras. He travelled to England in 1914 with the intention of publishing his equations. He met Professor Hardy at Cambridge University, who became a close friend. Hardy tried to teach Ramanujan how to prove his equations. Apart from Hardy very few of the professors at Cambridge accepted him, partly because of his unconventional approach to Mathematics, partly because he was an Indian.

This is a beautiful film that concentrates on Ramanujan's personal life, in particular his relationships to his wife, his mother and Hardy. Even though the film has to do with complex mathematical issues, everything is presented in a way that remains entertaining to the majority of viewers who only learnt Mathematics for a few years at school.

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Let me make a comment on the quote at the beginning of this post. It was spoken by Ramanujan in the film, because he was a deeply religious man (a Hindu). Maybe he really spoke these words when he was alive. If he did, he was wrong. Let me explain my reasoning.

Let's assume for a moment that God exists. Let's also assume that God created the universe. An omnipotent God could have created any number of universes. He could have created a universe in which our planet is the base with nothing beneath us, i.e. we would live on a flat planet. He could have created a universe without gravity, where unattached objects float off into space. However, God couldn't have created a universe in which 1 + 1 = 3. Mathematical principles predate God, and God doesn't have the power to change them. In fact, mathematical principles would exist if neither God nor the universe had ever existed. God isn't omnipotent when it comes to Mathematics. He has to obey its rules, just like we do. When we study Mathematics we're learning absolute truths that are greater than God. Equations, if they are true, aren't words spoken by God, they're words that God himself must listen to in awe.

Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

30 films to watch before you die, #29

This is a film that I was fortunate enough to watch before it was released in the cinemas. It was at he end of 2008, between Christmas and New Year. It was already being advertised on the side of buses in Birmingham, but it wasn't due to appear in the cinemas until January 9th. The ads made it look like a comedy, so I wouldn't have gone to see it. One day I was talking to a friend. He told me that there was an absolutely fantastic film I should see called "Slumdog Millionaire". I told him I wasn't interested, but he insisted and pushed a DVD into my hand. A home-made copy.

I took it home, and when it started there was a warning message. "This DVD is intended for viewing by film critics during the awards season. It is for personal viewing only. You may not show it to your friends or family". Very interesting. Someone somewhere had leaked the DVD. Fortunately, that was two years before I started writing my blog, or I would have had to explain how I got my hands on the film.

I loved the film. It truly is a masterpiece. It's fascinating to compare it with "Steve Jobs", which I watched in the cinema earlier this month. Both films are directed by Danny Boyle, but their style is so different. "Steve Jobs" is very minimalist, whereas "Slumdog Millionaire" has a luxurious big budget feeling. Both films are excellent in their own ways.

The film tells the story of the "Who wants to be a millionaire" contestant, Jamal Malik, but it also tells the story of India from 1990 to 2006. We see the religious persecution in the 1990's. We see the gangs and the political corruption. We see the housing boom when the slums are demolished to make room for skyscrapers. We see the call centres outsourced by British companies to India.

"Slumdog Millionaire" was nominated for ten Oscars in 2009, of which it won eight, including best film. That was well deserved.

Chappie (4½ Stars)

I finally went to see this film in the cinema, after being busy arranging my move for the last few weeks. I don't think I've mentioned it in my blog yet. I'm in the middle of moving house. I've never liked the house that I live in. I moved here because the last house I was renting was sold in 2008 and I had to move in a hurry. I cried when I moved here. Literally, I cried. It's so much smaller than the house I was living in until 2008, and as a result I had to throw away a lot of my furniture. My four-poster bed and my wall-sized wardrobe had to be left behind. It was heart-breaking.

Now I have to move again. Last year my landlord attempted to increase the rent, and I refused to pay more because I couldn't afford it. Now he's finally lost his patience and given me notice. I was told to leave within two months unless I pay the new rent. My previous rent was £510 per month, now he wants £600. Last year I went to the council office to get advice. In my street all the houses are identical, as is typical for streets in England's industrial cities. I was told that I could appeal against the rent increase, because the average rent in my street is £400. In addition, I spoke to two of my neighbours who live in my street; one of them pays £350 per month rent, the other pays only £220. They were both shocked that my rent is so high for a house the same as theirs, and even more shocked that my landlord wants more.

I suppose I could take my landlord to court over his proposed rent increase, and I would probably win the case, but I don't want the stress of years of arguments while I'm living here in this poor quality house in which the unused fireplace has only been closed by taping plastic bags over the hole in the wall. I was lucky enough to be recommended a new house by my next door neighbour. The quality of the house is better, it's slightly cheaper (£500 per month) and it's in a quieter street. The disadvantage is that it's slightly smaller than the house I'm in now. I have to downsize again. Sigh..... At least this time I don't have any beautiful furniture to take with me. My previous house, where I lived from February 2002 until April 2008, was a home which I felt comfortable in, where I liked to invite my friends, and I would gladly have remained in it for the rest of my life. My new house (May 2008 to March 2015) is just four walls around me, nothing more, nothing less. I don't live here, I survive. My bedroom doubles as a storage room, and even if I were dating a girl I would feel ashamed to take her into my room. I'm fortunate that my dating days are behind me.

Will I feel better in my new home? Ask me again a few months from now. Somehow I can't imagine remaining there for the rest of my life. I'll try to make it look cosier than than the hole I've been in for the last seven years, but I don't think of it as a place for living a long time. At the moment my daughter Fiona is still living with me. When she moves out I'll start looking for something more suitable for myself. Slowly. As long as I have a roof over my head I'll be in no rush. I won't invest in any attractive new furniture, but at least I'll make an effort to keep my bedroom tidy.

I almost forgot that I'm supposed to be writing about a film. Despite the bad reviews from critics, I consider this to be director Neill Blomkamp's best film so far. He's taken a risk by setting the film in the near future, claiming that it will happen in South Africa in 2016. That will already be the past by the time most people watch it on Netflix. A company called Tetravaal has created police robots that it has sold to the Johannesburg police force. The rest of the world is looking on to see whether the experiment will be successful. But the robots' creator, Deon Wilson, doesn't want to stop there. Instead of just programming a machine to act like a police officer, he wants to give a robot real artificial intelligence and the ability to learn.

Deon takes a broken robot home to experiment with his new software, but he's hijacked by a criminal gang and the robot is stolen. The two gangsters Ninja and Yolandi take it upon themselves to educate the robot, that they call Chappie. Ninja wants to use Chappie as a tool to aid him in his robberies, but Yolandi has motherly instincts and wants to bring him up as a child.

The real stars of the film are Ninja and Yolandi, members of the South African group Die Antwoord. They're usually described as a rap group, but their music includes elements of 1990's Europop, and the lyrics are laced with dark humour, meaning they have more in common with goth music than other rappers. They're difficult to pin down to any music genre, and that's the way they like it. Neill Blomkamp is a fan of the group, and he asked them to just be themselves rather than act. Their characters in the film even use their real life names, or at least the stage names that they use as musicians. As a fan of Die Antwoord I immediately noticed that Yolandi was wearing the same outfits that she's worn in her music videos. Several of Die Antwoord's songs are used in the film soundtrack.

According to an interview with Neill Blomkamp, the film was devised as the first part of a trilogy. That's exciting. I know that the critics have panned "Chappie", but I love the film, and I hope that it makes enough money at the box office to justify the other two parts being made.

Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

When somebody asks me a question, I tell them the answer.

This film is a rarity, as far as I'm concerned. It's one of the very few films to be voted Best Film at the yearly Academy Awards that I really considered to be the best film. I just browsed the list of the winning films, and the only one I agree with is "Titanic" (1997). Sure, it was often a good film that won the award, but there was always a better film that finished second or wasn't even nominated.

The film is about an 18-year-old boy who takes part in the Indian version of the television game show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" It was originally devised in England, but due to its immense popularity clones were created all over the world. I agree that it's a fascinating show, if not watched too often. I first watched it when I was in hospital in 2000 and had little else to do. At the time it was aired five days a week, Monday to Friday. After being discharged from hospital in 2001 I still watched it, but less often. Eventually I stopped. I'd watched it so often that I had grown sick of it.

In the film Jamal Malik answers all the questions right, raising suspicions that he must have been cheating. The game is halted before the last question and he's interrogated. Jamal is no genius, as he readily admits. He tells his life story to the police detective, explaining how he learnt each answer by his life experiences.

When it was voted best film there were "experts" who claimed that it had won as a result of a black man being made American president for the first time. What? Do people actually get paid for talking rubbish like that? It won the award because it was the best film.

Slumdog Millionaire (5 Stars)

This is a film that I expect that most of my readers have already seen, so I can make comments without fear of giving away spoilers. It's a stunning film on so many different levels. I could be cynical and say that I'm surprised that it swept the Academy Awards in 2009 because it was too good to win an Oscar.

A young teenager from the slums of India goes on the quiz show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" not because he wants the money, but to gain the attention of his childhood love Latika who watches the show. Surprisingly he answers all the questions correctly and is accused of cheating. The film then tells his life story to explain how he learnt the answers. Each question in the quiz is related to a section of his life.

A visually beautiful film, well acted, with a deep plot that impresses the viewer even after watching it repeatedly. Five stars!